Pearl – Little Immaculate White Fox (2010)

Would she follow in her father’s operatic rock footsteps? Or would she venture into metal alongside her husband, Scott Ian? Pearl Aday did neither on her first, full length album, Little Immaculate White Fox. She followed her own road to rock, and it’s good.

With such a colorful musical upbringing, there was no way this lady wasn’t destined for rock greatness. Meatloaf is her father, whom she performed and toured with. That was followed by a stint as a back up singer for Motley Crue (call me jealous). And now Pearl is taking her well deserved position at center stage.

The first track, “Rock Child,” establishes all this and more. From being a “little girl living center stage” and “sleeping in a guitar case,” this song is a rock anthem about her life. She comes out wailing and comes out with a bang that makes you stop and take notice.

She follows that up with a rockin’ rendition of Tina Turner’s “Nutbush City Limit,” which is a perfect selection for her voice and would definitely make Ms. Turner proud.

Although it’s easy to spot all of the different musical influences in her music, the one influence that isn’t overly stated is the influence from her father. The one song that really has that Meatloaf vibe to it is “Whore.” From the harmonies to the musical and vocal phrasing, it just screams Meatloaf . Whether she meant to do it or not, it is quite an excellent homage to her father.

Pearl wasn’t messing around when putting together musicians for this album. Her band consists of guys from Mother Superior, who have backed The Rollins Band and U2. Husband Scott Ian plays guitar, and there are a couple of other tasty guitar players who also make appearances.

First up, Ted Nugent. Yeah, you just can’t go wrong with Uncle Ted. And the second you hear “Check Out Charlie,” there’s no denying that Ted Nugent guitar sound. The song is heavy and solid and Pearl proves that she can stand her ground in the rock world.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Pearl can slow it down and croon a touching ballad too. With Jerry Cantrell’s guitar mastering on “Anything,” Pearl’s soft, sweet vocals blend perfectly with his soulful sound. It was the perfect way to end the album. Some may question ending an album with a ballad, but this worked well for me, like a moment of zen after rockin’ out for almost an hour.

Song after song, your ears are bombarded with great rock and roll. Sometimes it’s hard for me to really get into an album. With this one, there was no problem at all. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to it already and it hasn’t grown old. Why? Because it’s real. Rock is in her heart, her soul and her blood and it’s obvious when you hear her voice. There are plenty of decent rock singers and rock bands out there, but there are very few that make you feel it. Pearl makes you feel it.

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I just bought this cd and I have to say it is the best rock album I have purchased in the last 10 years, you just cant get enough of this one, plug it in your car cd player and wait for the speeding ticket!!!! This is the greatest cd you never heard, I promise.